DAREDEVIL: THE LOST TALES

Irwin Allen TV Show Part 5

Welcome back for the fifth and final look at the Irwin Allen Daredevil show from 1983. I hope you've enjoyed this summary of the script and this new feature on the site. What have you thought about the changes? The costume, the way Matt gets blind, the way Jack Murdoch dies, the way the senses are portrayed, the close friendship with Freddie instead of Foggy, etc.?

From last week, Matt has been pushed into the elevator shaft by Chic Tanner...

ACT FOUR

The scene fades back in, and the freeze frame from the last Act unfreezes, as Matt falls backward, but is able to grab hold of a piece of scaffolding. He wraps his legs around the elevator cable. He uses his billy club to help him by using the links of the safety chain.

Above, Tanner looks into the dark void but is uncertain... nobody couldn't survived that fall. The guard and Freddie arrive and look in the shaft as well. Freddie turns to Tanner and yells "You killed him!"

The scene switches quickly to Leopold's trailer. Tanner is there and Leopold is snarling at him in disbelief. "You idiot! They'll use that ledger book to hang me!"
Tanner says maybe Matt had the book on him. Leopold says "I hope so... Let's get it!".

The scene switches quickly again, back to the base of the elevator shaft. Tanner opens it, with Leopold peering over his shoulder, anxiously. There's Matt Murdoch (with an "h"), sitting up on the floor, dazed, some scratches, yet miraculously he has survived.

"I don't understand. He needed wings to survive that fall!"

"Take him to my office," Leopold commands.

Cut to Leopold's office. Freddie and Matt are sitting back to back, their hands and legs bound to two chairs. Leopold and Tanner enter the room, demanding to know where the ledger book is. "Locked in my office safe" Matt answers. Leopold picks up the phone. "I'll call your partner, you tell him to meet you here at the construction site with the ledger, or else your friend here dies."

At Foggy's office, at his desk, he takes the call on his speaker phone. Ben and Karen are also present, along with Herbert laying at Foggy's feet.

Leopold's voice (filtered) comes through... "You've got until 4 O'Clock. No cops, no funny stuff, or Murdoch and the kid are dead."

The line clicks. Foggy looks and Karen and Ben says their only course of action is to comply. Ben says they have to go to the police... have them stay out of sight until given the signal. Karen says that's the better plan. Foggy reluctantly agrees that's a better option.

Back at the construction site. Leopold is in his limo, as Tanner supervises some thugs who are mixing a batch of fresh cement. Matt and Freddie are tied together. They are sitting at the edge of a large, open dirt pit. Matt is working to get free.

Across the street, a telephone lineman is high atop a phone pole. He's looking down at the site. He talks into a walkie-talkie. "I count a half dozen man, all armed"

Captain Cody (the cop who didn't believe Matt's story from a few Acts prior) is dressed in coveralls below, pretending to be part of a phone company crew. He responds in his walkie-talkie. "We wait until we get the signal."

Foggy's car pulls into the site and rolls through the open gates. Foggy and Karen both get out. Leopold exits his limo as well. Foggy opens a briefcase and hands Leopold the ledger book. Leopold smiles. "Get rid of all of them."
Foggy protests "We kept our end of the bargain!". Tanner and his men lead Foggy and Karen away.

Cody and his men quickly converge on the site. Gunfire erupts. Karen and Foggy take cover. Tanner and his men are pinned behind some lumber.

Karen rushes to Matt and Freddie and unties their rope. They take cover as some crossfire misses them by inches.

Tanner jumps atop a bulldozer, uses the shovel as a shield which kicks up a cloud of dust and debris. Matt uses this as a diversion to slip away, unnoticed.

The dust slowly clears, and Daredevil is standing atop a steel girder. He leaps and knocks Tanner off the bulldozer. He subdues him quickly with a few karate chops. He also uses his billy club line to catch a fleeing thug.

Suddenly, a wrecking ball swings by, narrowly missing Daredevil. He leaps onto the ball, climbs up and pulls the thug out of crane.

Leopold grabs Karen and drags her to the limo. He pushes her inside and the driver takes off. Daredevil hooks onto the car with his billy club line and is dragged behind. He somersaults onto the roof of the car and yanks the car keys out of the ignition. The car comes to a grinding halt. Karen bolts from the car. Leopold tries to escape by Cody's men are there to grab him.

Karen trips on some debris, but Daredevil dives and catches her. She looks up and is smitten. Daredevil puts her down gently and smiles. Then he disappears. "Maybe we'll meet again someday."

Later, still at the construction site, Leopold and his thugs are led away by Cody and his men. Ben arrives on the scene. "Daredevil disappeared again! He has a way of vanishing into thin air!"

The scene cuts to Ben's office. Reader letters are dumped on his desk by his editor. "Run some of these letters. They love Daredevil. Do whatever it takes to get an exclusive on him. I don't want another paper getting it first, understand?"

Back at Matt's office, Freddie is reading some of those letters from the newspaper. Matt suggests that they could use these letters to help those in need... as Daredevil.

Cut to: Novak's estate, at night. Oscar Novak is sitting at his desk, pouring himself a brandy, when he looks up and sees Daredevil. Novak reaches under his desk. "If you're ringing for your hired muscle, he's out... cold."

"What do you want?" Novak asks.

"I want to see that Mrs. Flores gets paid back for all her suffering."

Novak reluctantly goes to his safe and hands Daredevil a roll of bills.

Later that night, at Karen's apartment building, Freddie and Matt ride up the elevator. Freddie is dressed as a punk rocker, and Matt is dressed as Daredevil. "Karen digs you" Freddie says. "No way! Think of the danger she'd face if she shared my secret. I must never let her get too close. I care for her too much!"

In the apartment, the party is in full swing. There are others dressed as Daredevil as well. Foggy is dressed in black-tie and tails. Karen is dressed as Little Orphan Annie. The doorbell rings. Karen opens the door to find Daredevil there. Her heart skips a beat. "It's me, Matt".

Karen recovers "I knew it was you right away. The real Daredevil wouldn't be caught dead in a shabby outfit like that! He's got bigger muscles too."

Herbert has also joined the party. He's dressed as a dalmation with a red fireman's hat.

Freddie says "It's fun dressing in costumes."

Karen agrees "Once in a while we'd all like to play the role of someone else."

The camera moves in on Matt. He smiles. "It's a shame that most of us never get the chance..."